# Phone spam protection app for Android **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 11, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-spam-protection-app-for-android/955889 "2021-12-11T16:07:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-spam-protection-app-for-android/955889/1 "2021-12-11T16:07:58Z")
I’m inundated with phone spam - both text and calls, but especially SMS text. I have a Samsung Galaxy S21. Can anyone recommend a trustworthy app to help block this crap? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-spam-protection-app-for-android/955889/2 "2021-12-11T16:54:02Z")
Your carrier might have something. I use AT&T call protect, and once you get past the ads and upsells, it does offer some protection for free. I think [Google’s phone app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.dialer) now works on all phones. I’m not sure what features are Pixel only, and which work on other phones. It does block some spam and has a call screening feature, where it asks who is calling and transcribes the response before you answer. It also can show if a call is coming from a verified business, which is nice if you’re expecting a call, but don’t know the number (“you’re car is ready,” etc.) I’m not going to scroll through my call log and count blocked vs rung spam, but my guess is it’s about 20-50% of spam gets blocked. Other solutions might work better, but these both work with no additional cost to me. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-spam-protection-app-for-android/955889/3 "2021-12-11T16:59:19Z")
Thanks. AT&T Call Protect looks good except that I don’t see anything about SMS protection. I’ll at least use it for calls, though. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-spam-protection-app-for-android/955889/4 "2021-12-11T17:06:19Z")
Googles messages app, which might be what Samsung is using anyway, does block spam. It also isn’t great, but much better than nothing. Text spam used to be very rare for me and it blocked almost all of them. Then maybe six months ago it greatly increased, and now it blocks maybe 80%. All of those rates are really pathetic compared to email, where about 99.9% of spam is blocked before it even gets to your account, and of what is delivered 90%+ goes in your spam folder. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-spam-protection-app-for-android/955889/5 "2021-12-11T17:10:46Z")
I generally use Call Control, which is also free for basic use. (You can pay for more information). The blacklist is crowd sourced, so it can be hit or miss, but it’s better than nothing. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-spam-protection-app-for-android/955889/6 "2021-12-11T17:14:29Z")
I use TrueCaller (free version), which is pretty good (although nothing is perfect). You can use wildcards in your block list. In the free version, to update the spammer list, you have to do it manually (which is easy). I think the paid version does it automatically. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-spam-protection-app-for-android/955889/7 "2021-12-11T17:19:37Z")
Thanks for the suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-spam-protection-app-for-android/955889/8 "2021-12-15T15:39:01Z")
I had AT&T; they had suck-ass protection for spam SMS; so much so that they paid for my new phone with Verizon so that I could get away from their crap. Seriously! Maybe they’re better now but I won’t ever go back to them.